Airships

[mice]

If you are in war around the time of rifles, the AI seems to beeline Physics and then spams airships.

They keep 4 in a city and bombard your stack over and over, in my experience. By the time the stack gets to it's target they are not fit to take a yoga class let alone take a city.

This has a few implications.

- Protective gives Drill promos which helps reduce collateral damage. It's useful in this situation.

- GG medic III might become even more useful, to the point of making two of them (for two stacks), or moving a unit up through the medic ranks more diligently.

Beelining Physics to build your own airships, that's if they intercept. Do they intercept?

- the problem that we see airships on the map before cannons. This is a pity IMO.

-There is no graphic for being bombarded. You just get red messages saying that it happened. I would like to see some graphic if this is a major effect on my attack.

-the art for the airship could be better. It looks a bit like a small sausage. Modders gave us very good zeppelins. I hope to replace this graphic soon.

Any thoughts? They slow down the advance, and then with nerfed siege, It seems to me that building them is now very key.

 

[Quagga]

May I suggest March promotions for units accompanied by those GG medics? Maybe a mix of units with March for the attack, some with Drill for stack defense. Also, bringing a bigger stack means not everybody will get collateral damage, or at least everybody will get less.

 

[mustafathered]

Airships? BtS has airships? I'm going to need to sit down with my checkbook and see if I can squeeze out the $30!

 

[largedarryl]

I have also noticed that the AI likes to stockpile airships, and even bombard incoming fleets.

I think the beeline to physics to get airships before cannons make an appearance is a little hard, IMHO. Maybe I'm a little confused, but the use of steel, steam power and assembly line are ussually prioritized before physics (or even scientific method in my case).

 

[HiroHito]

didnt play much so far, but I didnt see airships before cannons in the game I've played.

 

[InvisibleStalke]

I didn't notice airships being that powerful (I have them and my opponents don't). As far as I can tell they are like fighters and don't do collateral damage. they are only strength 4, so rifles should shrug them off reasonably well. Its handy to be able to weaken a top defender so they are useful to weaken my opponents, but a cannon does the same job, so its not game breaking.

 

[datachasm]

to see the airship animations, you may have to setup under options to see AI turns.

i tried airships my first game of BtS and they are fairly useful for a few years before the bombers come out, but they are definitely a pain in the butt to use for sorties just like any other aircraft in the game.

kinda wish they would have made some tweaks/overhauls for this and the gui, but its a small annoyance really.

 

[EEE_BOY]

does airship's 8 range make it better for collateral damage without casulty? if it is, i'll try to beeline it

 

[Zetetic Apparat]

They don't do collateral damage, so they're kind of useless over land. If you tend to fight wars half-heartedly, they're quite helpful for weakening units trying to relieve towns that I'm vaguely besieging, but apart from that...
I'd prefer it if they could bomb stacks properly and improvements, but with a relatively slim chance of success. Oh, and they turned up pre-cannons (for me at least) in my last game.